The Hindu : Business : Jet Airways’ Q4 net at Rs. 53 crore

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Tuesday, May 26, 2009
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Business

Jet Airways’ Q4 net at Rs. 53 crore

Lower fuel prices and restructuring help the airline

Reduces capacity
in domestic sector
Leases out nine long haul aircraft

NEW DELHI: Beating expectations private carrier Jet Airways reversed the trend of previous two quarters, to post a net profit of Rs. 52.99 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2009, mainly on account of lower fuel prices and restructuring programme undertaken.

The carrier had suffered a loss of Rs. 221.18 crore in the same quarter of the previous financial year.

However, the net revenue for the latest quarter was at Rs. 2,263.37 crore, down 16 per cent from Rs. 2,687.33 crore in the comparable quarter of the previous fiscal.

Jet fuel expenses were sharply down to Rs. 593.94 crore in the quarter under reference from Rs. 1,080.21 crore, due to lower fuel prices and route rationalisation undertaken by the carrier.

The average rate of ATF (aviation turbine fuel) for the quarter was Rs. 29.67 per litre, which was lower than Q4 financial year 2008 rates by 37.4 per cent. The company has reduced capacity (for the domestic sector) by 22.3 per cent in the fourth quarter as compared with the year-ago period, the carrier said in a statement.

For the entire year, the airline widened its losses by almost 59 per cent at Rs. 402.34 crore compared with Rs. 253.06 crore in the 2007-08 fiscal.

As for the near future, Jet does not foresee smooth sailing. The net revenue for the entire year was higher at Rs. 11,083.43 crore as compared to Rs. 8,669.28 crore in the previous fiscal. The international operations of the carrier accounted for 52.53 per cent of the net revenues at Rs. 5,822.23 crore for the year.

The company leased out nine long haul aircraft that had become surplus as a result of elimination of excess capacity. “The major network initiatives include reduced capacity on routes to the U.S./Canada by using A330s in place of the B777s and higher B737 utilisation on Gulf/ASEAN routes,” the carrier said.

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